


Wrong About You

by MagpieWords



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers Tower, Brotp, Canon Compliant, Gen, Missing Scene, Post-Avengers (2012), Post-Iron Man 2, beginnings of friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 08:29:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20485889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagpieWords/pseuds/MagpieWords
Summary: Missing scene for how Tony Stark goes from being spied on by Natalie Rushman to being teammates with Natasha Romanoff





	Wrong About You

**Author's Note:**

> For the Tony Stark Bingo, square T3: Missing Scene
> 
> This might be the shortest fic I've ever post and also the first fic I can tag with "canon compliant" but I mostly wrote it because I hate how the MCU jumps from Avengers 2012 to AOU where everyone is friends without any explanation! Give me budding friendship! Let's explore past conflicts and how they resolve into good team functionality!! Come on!!!
> 
> Anyway, I live and die for the tony&tash brotp. Can be ship if you want tho, idc.

“We need to talk.”

Natasha did not enjoy how Tony Stark was able to sneak up on her. No one should be able to sneak up on her. She didn’t respond, simply tilted her head in acknowledgement. If he wanted to talk, they could talk here.

“Rogers and Thor, they don’t know you,” he whispered. “And what little Banner knows, he already doesn’t like.”

“I am aware of that.” Fury hadn’t asked her to make friends, he asked her to do a job. That’s why she was here. This teammate situation would be unpleasant, but after what she’d seen fall out of the sky, she understood it was necessary.

Stark stepped in front of her, squinting at her. She didn’t flinch from his gaze, face kept perfectly neutral. “What I know of you, I really don’t like.”

“I am also aware of that.” She felt her expression twitch against her will. She wasn’t a robot, as much as she tried, though she wondered if Stark would find her easier to deal with if she was.

Still, the twitch was enough of a gap in her armor for Stark to strike. He leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. His smirk was almost cruel, masking as something casual. “I don’t know if I want you living in my tower.”

“Fine,” she responded too quickly, but it was already done. She turned to leave. “Fury can arrange for me to be elsewhere.”

They both knew that was a lie, but it didn’t matter. Natasha had other connections. It wasn’t necessary for her to stay with the team.

“Hold on,” Stark chased after her. She didn’t make it to the door before he had a hand on her forearm. He felt her muscles tense under her sleeve and immediately let go of her. He wouldn’t last a second in a fight against The Black Widow, they both knew that. Even his newest suit wouldn’t get there in time to save him.

When Natasha turned to face him, a single brow arched, she was surprised to find that he clearly didn’t want to fight with her. “That’s it?” he said, “I push back a little and you just throw in the towel?”

“I can tell when I’m not wanted, Stark.” She threw on a grin, not bothering to make it less sharklike than it felt. Stark just rolled his eyes.

“Come on, I might not play well with others, but even I know that’s no way to start a team.”

Her smile evaporated and she let her lips twitch down. What did he want from her? “I’m sorry,” she offered.

Stark’s face was hard to read. All Natasha could make of it was shock. And doubt, like he was trying to figure out if she’d injected him with something again. “Why?”

Good question. She thought she’d picked that option because it was likely to yield the best results. An apology made the other person feel powerful. She knew Stark better now though, and all her data showed that apologies just made him uncomfortable. She forced herself to keep her face neutral, and not grimace. Analyzing other people was her job, but analyzing her own choices was usually unpleasant.

“You flew a nuclear bomb into an alien space portal,” she started. That was the biggest change from the last time she’d seen him. Stark flinched as she said that. Interesting. No, Natasha reminded herself, she was focusing on herself right now, not her target.

And he wasn’t her target, not anymore. He was her teammate. Maybe in a few years, her friend. “I was wrong,” Natasha decided.

She forced herself to look at him. Not through him, not at her knives in feigned boredom. At him. She wondered if it was terrifying, having a Widow’s attention like this. Stark didn’t look scared. He was keeping his own face carefully neutral. He was nearly as good at it as she was, which was why her profile on him had been so wrong the first time. The only giveaway was the eyes. His eyes smiled even if the rest of his face didn’t.

“Yeah. You were wrong.” And then he shrugged and let himself smile fully. Natasha let confusion visibly knit her eyebrows together and Tony laughed. “I want to be wrong too,” he explained.

Oh.

“I think I can arrange that.” Natasha said, a tentative smile creeping over her lips. Tony beamed at her. This wasn’t the mask he wore at parties and it was so much nicer.

“Pro-tip, took me a while to learn this one, but don’t lie about your identity? It is Natasha, right? Not Natalie? I want to get the name right on the official documents. Generally just try not to lie to teammates. Also I’d recommend getting consent before injecting experimental substances into people.”

“In my defense, you were dying.”

Tony laughed again. “Yeah, I think this is going to work out just fine. So, you and the archer planning on sharing a room? I was thinking personalized floors for everyone, but you two seem pretty cosy at these meetings Fury calls us into. Oh! Any dietary restrictions? Pep thought it would be a good idea to throw a big dinner when everyone moves in and I’d hate for your first night in Avengers Tower to be spent with food poisoning.”

Surprisingly, Natasha didn’t feel the need to drown out Tony’s chattering as he followed her down the hallways of the SHIELD building. When she was on a mission, she had to listen to her target. Few people other than Clint or Fury were someone she wanted to listen to. This teammate situation might not be as unpleasant as she expected.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! find me on [tumblr](http://magpiewords.tumblr.com)


End file.
